Apologize for slavery

Yes, New Jersey should apologize for its role in this country's slave trade. That official wrong merits an official apology.
Assemblymen William Payne and Craig Stanley are sponsoring a simple, worthwhile resolution that says the state Legislature apologizes, regrets this state's involvement in slavery and encourages citizens to remember and teach their children the truth.
An Assembly committee is scheduled to hear the bill today. The resolution must get through both houses before the session adjourns Monday or the resolution would have to be reintroduced. It is worth the push.

New Jersey would be the first Northern state to issue such an apology. Several Southern states have done so, but the South wasn't the only place where slavery was a legal fact of life and commerce.
New Jersey had one of the largest slave populations in the North, was one of the very last Northern states to abolish slavery within its borders and initially refused to ratify the 13th Amendment, the constitutional repair that abolished slavery in the United States.
It's also true that New Jersey was an important link in the Underground Railroad that guided escaped slaves to freedom. That was the work of brave individuals. But official state policy, unfortunately, made New Jersey one of the few Northern states to sanction the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and its provisions for hunting down runaways and returning them to their owners.
Not admitting the sins of the past denies history one of its primary functions: to tug at the conscience of those who affect their own time.